Ana María Martinez (J.D. '09)
Ana María Martinez (J.D. '09) is an attorney for Judge Dax E. López of the DeKalb State Court. She is co-founder of the Georgia Latino Law Foundation, an organization dedicated to increase diversity in the legal profession by supporting the Latino legal community pipeline, and to increase the Latino community's access to the legal system by educating and empowering Latinos to join the legal profession.
As president of the GLLF, she oversees the organization's Latino Law Students' Law Day, Leadership Academy and Mentoring Program, and Fellowship Program.
"Through my own life experiences, I knew that there were not very many resources available to help Latinos with an interest in a legal career, and that most Latinos were starting law school at a disadvantage from other ethnic groups," she said. "Specifically, I knew that most Latinos did not have the knowledge and the network to navigate the politics and intricacies of both law school and the career search process, and I wanted to make sure the lessons I and others before me had learned were not for nothing."
Martinez has also served as past president and is a board member of the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, serves on the board of the Latino Community Fund and is past co-chair of the Multi-Bar Leadership Council. She also is heavily involved with the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia (YLD), is vice chair of the State Bar of Georgia's General Counsel Committee, and is a Barrister in the Lamar Inn of Court.
Martinez has received numerous accolades for her involvement, including the Award of Achievement for Outstanding Service to the Public from the YLD for her work in the Inaugural Legal Food Frenzy in 2012, being selected as one of Atlanta Business Chronicle's 40 Under 40 in 2016, and named a 2017 Law & Justice Women of the Year Honoree by Women Works Media Group.
Prior to working at DeKalb State Court, Martinez was a litigator at Owen, Gleaton, Egan, Jones & Sweeney, where she practiced in the areas of consumer warranty law, premises liability, professional liability, products liability, general personal injury defense, and employment law.
She received her B.B.A. in marketing, cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2004. She obtained her J.D., cum laude and with Pro Bono Distinction, from the Georgia State Law in 2009.